About the Manuscripts & Pictorial website

The Manuscripts & Pictorial website is a user-friendly way to search and browse digitised manuscript and pictorial material from the collections of the Alexander Library.

Powerful search tools

On the site you can search across all items, or choose to focus on selected parts of the collections (for example, the McLean papers or the Photographic Archive). You can also use the search filtering options to help you refine your search results.

Downloadable items

As with Papers Past, you can download items from the Manuscripts & Pictorial website as PDF files. These have been formatted for ease of printing.

Many items in the McLean papers have a transcription or translation. These are presented alongside the original item onscreen and in the downloadable PDF file.

About the Sir Donald McLean papers

Sir Donald McLean (1820-1877) was one of the most influential figures in 19th-century New Zealand history. In his various roles as Chief Land Purchase Officer, Native Secretary, the Superintendent of Hawkes Bay, official in charge of military operations on the East Coast and Native Minister, McLean played a pivotal role in relations between Māori and the government.

Over 100,000 pages from McLean’s papers have been digitised, including correspondence, diaries, telegrams, letterbooks and maps. Many of the letters and diaries have been transcribed and are keyword searchable.

Of particular significance are over 3000 letters in te reo Māori, many of which have transcriptions and translations attached.